Lawyer in Saskatchewan Granted Appeal after Disbarment for Questionable Behavior

One lawyer from Prince Albert was banned from
practicing law earlier this year. He has since been granted the right to
practice while his related case is under an appeals process. Peter Ambrametz
will continue to practice law until there is a court hearing regarding his
disbarment. The lawyer made an official appeal after the Law Society of
Saskatchewan barred him from practicing law until 2021. The incident which
barred Mr. Abrametz from practice has been described as deceitful and
disturbing.

The Law Society of Saskatchewan conducted a
hearing on January 10th regarding Mr. Abrametz’s unbecoming behavior. The
hearing resulted in the lawyer being found guilty of the charges. The Law
Society of Saskatchewan is comprised of several esteemed and experienced professionals in the
field which make up a regulatory body for other lawyers.
The society brought forth allegations against Mr. Abrametz claiming that he had
mishandled several files. These included the trust funds of eight different
clients. Mr. Abrametz allegedly wrote trust checks to a fictitious entity in
order to divert the funds to his own account. He is also charged with
maintaining improper records and loaning money to clients in need at incredibly
high interest rates.

The lawyer responded to these allegations with a
written appeal. In the application, he requested that his right to practice be re-established
while the case continues through the process. He argued that the suspension
would cause him great financial stress and that an individual would be put out
of work as a result. Furthermore, Abrametz made a case for the consequences
that this suspension would have on his clients as well. He mentioned that his
specialized practice was keeping some clients safe.

This would not have been the first time that
Abrametz was put under restrictions by Law Society of Saskatchewan. He was
forced to operate under numerous restrictions from 2012 to 2014. Abrametz was
constantly supervised by a member of the society and his trust accounts were
placed under restrictions. His entire practice was also monitored closely. The
court’s recent decision regarding his appeal noted that there haven’t been any
new allegations of malpractice since the original controls were implemented.
For this reason, they reasoned that Mr. Abrametz should continue practicing
under these same restrictions until the case has made its way through the court
system.

In his final decision, Justice Robert Leurer
wrote, “I agree with the Law Society that there are other lawyers who can
assume Mr. Abrametz’s practice, but I do not completely discount the harm to
members of the public if there is a need to hand off the files Mr. Abrametz has
been handling”. He continued by saying, “This harm includes delay and also
expenses as new lawyers are engaged. All of this may also damage the reputation
of the profession, particularly if it is later determined that Mr. Abrametz
should not have been suspended at all”. Questionable attorney practices
have been in the center of the press recently, some of them involving the name
of President Donald Trump, like the case against Bayrock Group LLC or Michael Cohen.

Justice Robert Leurer continued to express that
the public’s opinion towards this decision would be favorable. Most people
understand that the law process includes allowances of further review.
Reasonable members of the community will be able to understand how Mr. Abrametz
can continue to practice under restrictions even though he is no longer
presumed innocent. This reasoning develops from the legal avenue for appeal
which Mr. Abrametz has taken full advantage.

Despite filing for appeal already, there are many
more documents that Mr. Abrametz must turn into the Law Society of
Saskatchewan. He has until the 15th of April to gather these documents and
submit them for review. This case is high-profile for the area because Mr.
Abrametz has been in practice since 1973 and is a prominent lawyer in
Saskatchewan.